On a certain level I don’t understand hate. I can’t maintain it against individuals as it takes too much energy; I can’t hold it against classes of people because I’m aware, as a member of a minority community, of unintentional (or sometimes willful) ignorance that bigotry arises from. It takes a certain amount of self-awareness…
UPDATE 03/13/17: More than 28,000 people have joined with Janet Mock, the Ally Coalition and Care2 in sending postcards to Education Secretary Betsy Devos urging her to protect transgender students from discrimination. Bestselling author Janet Mock and nonprofit The Ally Coalition have partnered with Care2 to create #DearBetsyDevos, a campaign that enables signers to send…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—In the wake of rescinding guidance on Title IX protections for transgender students, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos issued a statement that said, in part: “At my direction, the Department’s Office for Civil Rights remains committed to investigating all claims of discrimination, bullying and harassment against those who are most vulnerable in our schools.”…
The rescission of Title IX guidance, which clarifies protections for transgender students under the law has been broadly condemned by LGBTQ , civil rights groups and others alike. In the past fifteen years, schools, courts, and federal agencies have recognized Title IX’s mandate to ensure equality for transgender students. The department’s action is contrary to…
HEADSPACE 2017 from Jake Graf on Vimeo. LONDON, U.K., – Tuesday, award-winning trans film director, Jake Graf, released the short film, Headspace online and in four days the film has received 1.2 million views, and overwhelming support from the trans and queer community. Written and directed by Graf, Headspace gives a rare and intimate glimpse…
Last September, I moved into a house with a small yard. With a yard, I began work on what I’m calling our Victory Garden (“Victory Garden” being the old WWII term for home vegetable gardens). As I’ve said before, I don’t want to get lost in the day-to-day goings on of the news cycles, and…
I lost track of time this week. I didn’t know when it was Monday or Wednesday, Jan. 30 or Feb. 1. I’ve lost my cues this week that tell me. Being medically retired and not having a Monday through Friday life, it can happen. I usually have appointments scheduled for Wednesdays and get reminders from…
In one of his last acts as president of the United States, President Obama commuted the sentence of Chelsea Manning. Under the current commutation scheme, she’ll be released in May. It was an act, in my opinion, that was justice tempered with mercy. Not many remember how Manning was mistreated during her pretrial confinement, but…
Andrea Jenkins recently visited San Diego as a special guest of the San Diego Human Dignity Foundation. In addition to meeting with the local LGBT community, Andrea also conducted interviews in her current work as curator for the University of Minnesota’s Transgender Oral History Project. It’s a bit of a challenge to describe Andrea, because…
I’m writing this piece knowing that by the time it’s published the situation may have changed; the deadline and the publishing time leaves a window for events to move forward. But even knowing this, I feel a need to comment on the fast moving events in North Carolina regarding HB2 – the so-called “Bathroom Bill.”…
